


Like a dark cloud on a crowded stage

by middlemarch



Category: GLOW (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Betrayal, Conversations, F/M, Female Friendship, Gen, Hospitalization, Past Infidelity, References to Assault, References to Drugs, Season 1, Vignette, as usual, lots of profanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27564910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/middlemarch/pseuds/middlemarch
Summary: You could say one of Sam Sylvia's love languages was "acts of service." He wouldn't, but you could.
Relationships: Debbie Eagan & Ruth Wilder, Mark Eagan/Ruth Wilder, Sam Sylvia/Ruth Wilder
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15





	Like a dark cloud on a crowded stage

“Hey, Debbie, I need to talk to you,” Sam called out. He wasn’t about to run after her but if she got any further away, he was going to have to shout. Normally, he didn’t have a problem with raising his voice, but Ruth was still within earshot, since she had the hearing of a fucking bat, and he knew her current level of calm was nine parts Melrose’s Xanax and one part his constant low-key reassurance. 

“You can’t smoke here, Sam,” Debbie said. She looked like hell, her lips pinched and her eyes…he recognized that look from some pretty rough nights, rougher mornings. 

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been in a fucking hospital before,” he said. He found one of those weird random pairs of industrial grade upholstered armchairs that some third-class interior designer thought would make the antiseptic and frankly soul-destroying vibe of every JCAHO-accredited hospital somehow turn warm and welcoming. They did provide a physical barrier to the main drag of the hallway, so they did serve his purpose at least. “Over here.”

“What?” she asked. She was a tall woman, but he still had an inch on her and up close, she had to notice it. “What’s so important?”

“Couple things. Pay attention, because I’m not saying this twice,” Sam said, keeping his voice low, letting her hear the bass. “First of all, don’t steal my shit. Including my coke—”

“I don’t know what you mean—”

“You do and so do I. You were angry, you saw your ex with another woman, I get it. Doesn’t mean you can drink my liquor and put a week’s worth of blow up your nose,” he said. She might have gotten paler but it was hard to say.

“Okay,” she said. She didn’t apologize and he couldn’t knock her for it, because he wouldn’t have either. 

“Don’t you ever get in that ring when you’re high. If you don’t injure one of the other girls, you’ll hurt yourself and for better or worse, you carry this goddamn fucking show,” Sam said. “You have fucking alimony or an allowance or something, but this is paying the bills for the rest of us.”

“Fine,” Debbie said, shrugging. Or rolling her shoulders like they were tight, like she was on edge. “That all?”

“No. You ever hurt Ruth again, I’ll fucking end you,” he said, very quietly. Seriously, which got her attention as much as what he’d said. Naturally, she started to argue.

“She fucked my husband—”

“Yeah, and he fucked her. Did you break his fucking leg with your bare hands? As I recall, you went to couples’ counseling and he made a shitty salad for you,” Sam said. “I get it, you feel more betrayed by Ruth, because she was your friend and you actually liked her, but if you were a man, I would’ve killed you for what you did to her.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Yes, you fucking did. Don’t lie to me. Don’t tell me it was the blow. The booze. I know how that shit works. You showed up at the gym the first day to beat the crap out of her. You brought your kid along,” Sam said. “Look, I don’t know if your marriage was already over, but it’s not a sign of fucking marital health for your husband to hit on your best friend at a party when she’s drunk and then sneak into her apartment for a second round. And then to tell you all about it. But you managed to keep from attacking him in broad daylight.”

“I don’t see why you’re defending Ruth. Why you’re protecting her,” Debbie said. 

“Oh my God, Debbie, because she’s a person. You just fucking broke her leg on television and then you came to the hospital and fucking screamed at her about how she deserved it,” Sam said. “Because she’s not going to defend herself, not from you, and I don’t see anyone else lining up to protect her.”

“Everyone’s here, all the girls,” Debbie protested. “Sheila growled at me when I walked by.”

“That’s solidarity. That’s because Ruth doesn’t have a suite to herself, because she doesn’t expect to be cast in every episode, because she’ll go out on a burger run and bring back extra fries. Because she stuck up for Reggie before I fucking fired her sorry ass,” Sam said. 

“You make Ruth sound like she’s perfect,” Debbie said. 

“No, but I can see she’s not a goddamn heel all the time. And that you fucking assaulted her,” he said. If Bash wasn’t such a softie, Ruth would lose her job, owe a shitload of money to the hospital and most likely be forced back to bumfuck Omaha to live with her parents. He could have said all of that, but he didn’t bother. Debbie probably thought Ruth deserved that too. For someone who didn’t seem to give a fuck about her husband, Debbie put a pretty high price on his fidelity. “Look, I said what I had to say, we’re done here.”

“Is that a threat? Are you threatening me, Sam?” Debbie asked, making one last attempt to regain control, tossing her hair and sticking her tits out. 

“No. I don’t make fucking threats or play mind-games like your immature douchebag ex. I’m a grown man and I’m telling you how it is. I won’t tell you again,” he said, turning and walking away before she could try to end the scene. Ruth was waiting. He picked up some graham crackers from the nurses’ station. She liked those and she’d smile if, when he stole a few to dunk in his latest cup of shitty coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a chart-topper in 1986, Dreamtime, by Daryl Hall.
> 
> I did not think Debbie was called out adequately on her behavior.


End file.
